Sears sued over wet/dry vac

A California man, unhappy with a Craftsman wet/dry vacuum he purchased at Sears, is taking the company to court, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Kenneth Thompson said he purchased the vacuum because he was impressed with the product’s advertised horsepower. However, when he got it home and put it to the test, he claims it fell way below expectations. Thompson then hired an independent laboratory to test the horsepower of the vac, and it failed to even come close to reaching the horsepower Sears advertised for the product, according to a suit filed in Chicago this week. To reach the horsepower Sears advertised for the vac, all the motor assemblies had to be removed from the tanks, which “would be akin to measuring the headroom in a convertible with the top down," the suit said.

Thompson also said in the suit, which seeks class action status, that the tanks were two-thirds as large as Sears advertised.

The suit accuses Sears of violating the Illinois Consumer Protection Act and California’s false advertising and unfair competition laws. It’s asking the court to stop the company from marketing the product with false claims and offer purchasers of the product cash refunds.